


Yuanfen

by nagisa-sensei (komaedakibou)



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Metaverse (Persona 5), Fluff, M/M, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:13:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27732076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/komaedakibou/pseuds/nagisa-sensei
Summary: After making the decision to pursue his dream to own a homely café where he can provide a home away from home to people in Yongen-Jaya, Akira becomes interested in a depressed looking artist who always visits but never orders anything.
Relationships: Kitagawa Yusuke/Kurusu Akira
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Yuanfen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sorta_sora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorta_sora/gifts).



> HAPPY DAY OF BIRTH SORA! I LOVE YOU <3
> 
> I COULDN'T FINISH THE WHOLE THING IN TIME TO POST ON YOUR BIRTHDAY SO I'LL BE SPLITTING IT INTO TWO (?) CHAPTERS AND POSTING THE OTHER HALF FOR CHRISTMAS. I HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!

Yongen-Jaya wasn’t the liveliest of areas, but it had a certain charm to it that made people feel comfortable. It was a small area, but because it was small it seemed like those that lived within its bounds had formed a close, tight-knit community of sorts.

Everyone knew each other one way or another and seemed to get on well, even sending along greetings and smiles whenever they saw each other. It made Akira feel like he fit right in mere days after his move since people seemed genuinely happy to see the new addition to the area. It took some getting used to having people say good morning to him and ask him if he’s okay when he’s out late or looking exhausted, but it made him feel happy. He’d seen things like that happen on tv, but he never thought it actually happened in real life until he moved. There were only selfish assholes where he used to live, and the most he got as an interaction was someone glaring at him through their window as he walked by their house to get home.

Honestly, he was glad he’d given in to an impulsive desire to start fresh and try something new. His parents thought he was crazy when he mentioned wanting to start a business in a place like Yongen-Jaya, but in the end they helped him out by telling him about someone who could help him. Now that he was there, he wouldn’t change a thing.

It was calming, especially on rainy days, to sit indoors with a nice steaming cup of coffee while watching the droplets of rain hit and slide down the windows. It always made Akira feel at peace when he was working and heard the rain pattering away against the windows alongside the low, ambient music he played to make people feel welcome and as relaxed as possible. It wasn’t uncommon to see people come in to do the exact same thing on these days, and it almost felt like he was amongst friends and just having a nice and relaxing coffee with them while waiting for the rain outside to settle enough to go on to the next destination.

Café Leblanc was his something new, and it was a small, homely café hidden away in the side streets of Yongen-Jaya. It wasn’t an ideal location when business tactics were considered but it still managed to draw attention; word of mouth was the most powerful tool when it came to any business, and their customers seemed to be more than happy to spread the word and draw more attention to the café just because they enjoyed it there so much. Lately there had been lots of people travelling from Shibuya, Roppongi and even from Akihabara, and it never failed to surprise him when he saw a new smiling face enter.

It warmed his heart to see so many happy and satisfied people enjoying Leblanc. Some even said it was their home away from home which was more than he could’ve ever imagined. As welcoming as he tried to make the place be, he never actually expected it to succeed so well.

He was tempted to run a survey to figure out what kept bringing people back. Was it the atmosphere? It was calming, relaxed and welcoming. People normally weren’t very loud, and conversations carried in the air as a faint hum to accompany the music he played. Was it him? He did try his best to talk to everyone who looked like they needed company, and everything he made on the menu was made not just with hard work, but with genuine love and care. It definitely wasn’t the size since it wasn’t that big and certainly wasn’t something to write home about, yet so many people visited every day.

Standing behind a wooden bar-like counter, Akira smiled to himself as he watched a group of people get to know each other at the tables across from him. Behind him were shelves filled with ingredients and drinks, and off to his right was a modest kitchen with everything he needed – a refrigerator, a microwave, a sink and a small stove. In front of him were two coffee machines side by side, various beans lined up in jars, and all the utensils he needed to make the perfect coffee.

It really wasn’t much at all, yet it still managed to make so many people happy. It gave them somewhere to go, somewhere to mingle, somewhere to get a good drink or feed that wasn’t ridiculously overpriced. Perhaps it was everything combined that had people coming back he thought, still watching that group of people. You don’t need fancy things to build a rapport with people or provide them with a safe space to just enjoy themselves.

Recently, it even seemed like an artist had taken a liking to his humble little café. It was a boy who was probably the same age as him or at least similar, who had dark blue hair and an eccentric personality. Akira hadn’t asked for his name yet, but he was incredibly curious to find out. Whenever the boy visited, he couldn’t help but stare at him, wondering what kinds of things served as a muse to create art.

They usually saw each other once a week, but the visits seemed to become more frequent in the last week. It was only Wednesday, and he’d seen the guy twice already, with just one day where he hadn’t shown up. For some reason or another the artist looked nervous or stressed about something, so Akira had made it his personal mission to actually hold a conversation with him the next time that he walked in. He just hoped that he wouldn’t make a fool out of himself, which was… something he was rather prone to doing, as much as he loathed to admit it.

“Akira!” A rather determined voice called out, the door swinging open and an orange blur zooming towards him at full speed. “I don’t mean to alarm you – and by that I mean I certainly mean to alarm you – but that cute boy you stare at all the time is on his way here!” Futaba ‘whispered’ as she leaned over the counter to reach him, a huge grin plastered on her face. “You’re talking to him today, right?”

Making himself look busy, he tried to hide the embarrassment that was on his face. With a cloth in one hand, he suddenly found that the counter in front of him was extremely dirty and that cleaning it required his full, undivided attention.

Making himself look busy, he tried to hide the embarrassment that was on his face. With a cloth in one hand, he suddenly found that the counter in front of him was extremely dirty and that cleaning it required his full, undivided attention.

Humming in response, he couldn’t bring himself to fully trust himself to speak without his voice betraying his thoughts. He was nervous, already sweating heavily and needing to roll the sleeves of his dress shirt up as far as he could to cool off. Futaba was pouting at him, and from the corner of his eye he could tell that she was probably debating on leaping over the counter to shake him… which was something she’d _attempted_ to do before, the key word being _attempted_. He did not want to end up needing to carry her home again and having to explain to an absolutely livid and over-protective Sojiro who was _not_ happy to see his daughter in such a state.

"Dude!" She threw all attempts at subtlety out the window, frantically waving at him and pointing outside. "This is super important, so don't pretend you'd rather clean! I will jump over this counter and _bite_ you."

Pausing what he was doing, Akira looked at her in defeat. There was a high chance that she would legitimately do it, so it was safer for everyone if he just sucked it up and did what he wanted to do anyway. Why did he have to be such a mess when it came to talking to this one pretty guy? He had no trouble talking to any other customer, so it shouldn't have been so difficult for him to do. It wasn't like he was the first attractive guy around his age that came to Leblanc regularly.

"All right, all right..." He sighed, slumping his shoulders and letting go of the cloth in his hands. "Calm down, 'taba. I am _not_ carrying you home again, you hear me? Sojiro will kill me." He said, feeling a chill just thinking about it and visibly shuddering at the thought. Sojiro could be terrifying when he wanted to be despite the fact that the man seemed to have a soft spot for him as well, especially when it came to his daughter. "I'm going to talk to him, I just... need to mentally prepare myself."

There was a grin on her face that refused to disappear no matter how much he willed it to go away. It looked like she was happily reveling in his pain, amused by how much of a hot mess he was. Before she could open her mouth to say anything, the door opened and she spun around to see who it was, eagerly bouncing on the spot.

"He's here!" She practically hissed, turning to face Akira once again. "I'm going to sit behind him, so do your thing and I'll be cheering you on! Operation wingman commencing!"

Futaba bounded away muttering to herself almost immediately, literally sitting right behind the artist so their chairs were back to back. Akira let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head and trying to stop his knees from trembling as he hyped himself up to go over to the table. It was already hard enough to talk to the guy, and now it was going to be even worse since she would hear absolutely everything and not let him live down any stupid things he inevitably said.

Trying to forget about the negative side of things, he looked down at the jar of coffee beans in front of him and wondered if he should try guessing what the guy would like. For some reason, he seemed to Akira like the type of person who didn't enjoy bitter things very much, or at least wasn't in the mood for it right now. Perhaps he should try to make something sweet? It was cold outside so the drink would have to be hot this time even though he felt like making it iced.

Not wanting to take up too much time thinking about the drink, he started making a hot vanilla latte. Although he was rushing himself to get everything that he needed to make it together, he slowed down considerably and took extra care when it came to actually making the drink, wanting it to come out perfectly.

The moment it was ready, he took a deep breath and decided to just go for it. Holding the drink firmly in his hand, he walked over to the table and tried his best to keep his cool. Futaba gave him a thumbs up as he walked by her, but thankfully the guy appeared to be totally oblivious to everything going on around him and didn't notice. In fact, it seemed like he was staring so intently at the table that Akira wasn't even sure if he'd manage to get his attention even if he tried.

Placing the vanilla latte on the table in front of him, he held back a sigh of relief as the guy actually responded to his presence and looked up at him. His heart definitely didn't skip a beat the moment they locked eyes, the strange staring back at him with confusion written all over his face.

"I believe you have the wrong table." A deep voice said, the sound of it much nicer than Akira expected it to be. Suddenly his knees were feeling unstable again. "I just arrived and have no intention of ordering anything."

Akira just smiled, pushing the drink closer to him.

"Can I sit with you?" He asked, gesturing to the empty chair across from him and definitely needing to sit down before he crumpled to the floor and made a fool of himself. Looking closely at the other, it was pretty easy to forget all about how nervous he'd been before. The guy looked so distressed and exhausted that the barista was genuinely concerned for his wellbeing.

"...Sit with me?" Looking even more confused, the artist looked back and forth between the drink, the empty seat, and Akira. "I can leave, if that's what the issue is."

Now it was Akira's turn to be incredibly confused. Furrowing his eyebrows, he looked at the pretty stranger as though he'd grown a second head. All he wanted to do was sit with the guy and he thought that he was about to be kicked out? It didn't make any sense to him. Did he say something wrong already?

"Woah, hey..." He said as the other looked like he was about to get up and leave, shaking his head. "No, I don't want you to leave or anything. I just wanted to sit with you and talk since you look like you're going through a rough time."

Although the other still looked confused, it seemed like he was beginning to grow more flustered than anything else. His face heated up slightly, the gentlest touch of pink making its way to his cheeks before it disappeared completely. The guy seemed to be going through some kind of internal struggle or debate, and Akira felt bad for approaching him out of nowhere and confusing him so much as he waited for some kind of response to what he'd said.

"Ah, I see..." He settled back into his seat, letting out a soft sigh. "I apologise, I believed that you wanted me to leave since I've never ordered anything before. I actually don't like coffee very much, despite visiting this café all the time." He said, looking at the drink in front of him with a frown. "I also cannot afford anything, so..." 

Akira smiled, trying to reassure him that everything was okay. Although his question hadn't been answered, he slowly took a seat, giving the other a chance to tell him to go away if he really wanted to. Luckily for him, he didn't say anything further and just watched as he sat down.

"It's fine." Akira said, leaning forward to push the drink over to him all the way. "I thought you might not be the type to like bitter coffee so I made something a bit different for you. Give it a try. You don't have to finish it all if you don't like it, don't worry."

"But..."

"It's on the house. What have you got to lose?"

Defeated, the boy picked up the drink and sniffed at it cautiously. Curiosity bloomed on his face as he did, and he slowly brought it to his lips to have a sip of it.

As he drank it, his eyes widened. Akira couldn't keep the grin off of his face as the other drank it and appeared to enjoy it despite not being the biggest fan of coffee. It seemed like he'd made the right call when he decided to make something that weighed more on the sweeter side and didn't have the bitterness that came with most coffees.

"Delectable!" The other exclaimed, looking at the cup in wonder. "I've tried to teach myself to enjoy strong coffee, but this barely reminds me of coffee at all. What is it?"

"Vanilla latte." He replied happily, a joyful warmth spreading throughout his body. It seriously made him feel like his life was actually worth living when he got to see someone enjoy the things that he made for them. "It's more like a nice dessert than a coffee, huh?"

Nodding his head in agreement, the other drank some more before his exhaustion seemed to overwhelm him once again.

"I'm Akira." He introduced himself, eagerly awaiting the moment where he would finally have a name to put to the face after so long of wondering. "I hope you don't mind me wanting to talk to you. Honestly, I just wanted to make sure you were all right."

"My name is Yusuke." The other replied formally, nodding his head. "It is nice to properly make your acquaintance, Akira. I must confess that I am quite surprised to hear about your concern for me, but I also am well aware of how I must look to others at this moment."

"Oh?"

"Yes." Yusuke sighed, then looked at Akira with a serious look on his face. "You see, I am an artist. But what is an artist who cannot create a single piece of art? I used to paint whatever I desired, but now it feels as though I am lacking something vital."

As happy as Akira was that Yusuke was actually talking to him, he felt incredibly out of his element due to the topic at hand. What was he supposed to say to someone that was struggling with their creative muse? The closest he'd ever gotten to being creative was when he was writing in his diary, and even then it didn't really count because all he ever wrote about was what happened during his day.

Humming in thought, he wondered how to reply to that. "Well, what kind of things usually inspire you? People, places, prompts...?"

Yusuke considered that for a few moments, looking like he was very deep in thought.

"Well, I suppose that the thing that inspires me most is passion." He said, then elaborated when he saw the perplexed look that was on Akira's face. "The passion of emotion, the beauty within one's heart... I wish to capture emotion on my canvas and make the viewer feel it as though the emotion were their own."

Akira wasn't quite sure he understood, but he figured he knew what Yusuke was talking about. Art wasn't his strong point by any means, but the kinds of artworks that he personally liked were those that brought out feelings from within him that both felt like his own and didn't at the same time. Like looking upon a landscape that looked so cosy that it brought him comfort despite not being able to actually visit the place in the artwork.

"That just makes me wonder why you come here..." Akira said, chuckling softly. If Yusuke was looking for something that would help him find the emotion he was searching for, then why was he at Leblanc every other day? It would probably be more productive for him to observe places and people outside, somewhere different and livelier. "It makes me want to see your art too. I feel like you're a lot better at showing emotion in your work than you give yourself credit for."

Frowning, it took the artist a few moments to process what had been said to him. "This place is filled with exactly what I am looking for, Akira. People come here every day to enjoy the comfort of this café, its menu, and the company of both you and others." He said, locking eyes with Akira and speaking as though what he was saying was painfully obvious. "Perhaps one day I will show you. As I am, I am far too ashamed of the failures I've produced. Even my professor says that my art is lacking heart."

Looking around, he reflected on what Yusuke said. Of course, Akira knew just how important the cafe had become to people in such a short amount of time. Business was booming, people were happy... but he didn't think anyone else saw it similarly to the way that he did. Was it possible for Yusuke to capture the comfort of Leblanc in an artwork? Its warmth, its relaxed vitality, the heart of all the people who came and went? He couldn't even begin to imagine what such an artwork would look like.

"Then what's stopping you from creating that masterpiece?" He wondered, resting his cheek on his hand. Even Yusuke didn't seem to know the answer to it, if the way his face scrunched up was any indicator of what he was thinking and how he was feeling. "What is it that you think will really bring out that emotion?"

The other simply stared at him with a frown set on his face. With each silent and agonising minute that passed, it felt as though the frown were getting more intense. It put Akira on edge, and he worried that maybe he'd ended up doing something wrong after all. What was he supposed to say to fix it? He was just trying to help out in any way that he could, but maybe he should've just straight up let the other know that he had no idea what to say because his knowledge on art was fairly limited and basic. Almost all he ever did was make coffee and curry, after all.

Yusuke didn't move. He was so deep in thought that it looked like he was frozen in time with that frown etched into his face, and Akira started to wonder if he should just... walk away. Pretend it never happened and hope that the artist could find what he was looking for once he wasn't being disturbed by a mere barista who wanted to talk to him just because he thought he was cute and looked like he needed company.

"You're very pretty, Akira." The other finally said, coming back to reality and nodding to himself. "Would you be a model for my next painting? Perhaps what I need is to paint a person, not a place or an object. I can't think of anyone more perfect than you."

With how sudden those words came, he felt like he wanted to phase through his seat, onto the ground and out of existence entirely. His face was burning from embarrassment and to top it all off, Futaba let out a very loud squeal of excitement that made more than a few people turn to look and see what was going on.

"U-uh, what? Me?" Covering his face with his hands, he wasn't sure if he should be mortified or flattered from what he thought must be a compliment. It just came out of nowhere and was said so simply that it threw him off and made him react much stronger than he ever had to someone telling him he looked good. It was just for the sake of art, so why did he feel so flustered? "I don't think..." He trailed off, not sure if he should accept or not. 

On one hand, he barely knew Yusuke and didn't want to jump into something he knew nothing about on a random impulse. On the other... well, he'd seen how the guy was stressed and determined to create something. Who was he to deny him of a potential muse? If all went well, he'd hopefully find it easier to paint and if it didn't then he'd just have to find something or someone else to inspire him. It didn't hurt to let him at least try, did it?

"Ah... you don't want to?" Yusuke visibly deflated, and seeing him look so down again after everything was the deciding factor to push him to an answer.

Shaking his head, he tried his best to push away his embarrassment and smile. "Of course I'll help you." He forced himself to say, hiding his apprehension. "I can't imagine how painting me would be good for what you want, but it's worth a shot, right?"

It would also give him a chance to get to know Yusuke better which was a plus. He wanted to talk, and here they were, talking just like he wanted. If he said yes, then at least they'd hopefully be able to have more private conversations where a nosy orange gremlin wasn't going to tease him about anything stupid he inevitably said later.

At his acceptance Yusuke practically lit up with excitement. "Thank you!" He exclaimed, seemingly pulling both a small sketchbook and a pencil out of nowhere and writing on it with fervour. "Come to this address when you have a free moment. I have written down my number as well, just send me a message before you come so I can ask my sensei to give us some privacy. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Akira! You have no idea how much this means to me. You are a saviour, a true hero among men, and I don't know how I will ever repay you." 

Before Akira could even process what had happened, Yusuke was throwing his head back to drink the rest of his vanilla latte and running out the door. 

"...Dude." Futaba said after a few seconds of Akira's brain desperately attempting to catch up with the present, sliding into the now empty seat and pushing up her glasses. "He's weird. Doesn't surprise me that you like the weird ones, though." She snickered, grinning from ear to ear as she reached over the table to boop him on the nose. "Hello, Earth to Akira?"

"What just happened?" Was all he could say in response, blinking in confusion and trying to not look so disappointed that the pretty art student was gone.

She shrugged, her hand moving to push the paper Yusuke had left behind towards him. "Looks like you got his number and his address. Way to completely skip first base! I've gotta say, I didn't think you had it in you... but looks _can_ be deceiving, I guess."

"Ugh. Shut up, Futaba..." He groaned, dropping his head to the table to hide his burning cheeks. The last thing he wanted her to see was just how much it had gotten to him. 

It made him nervous, but he was definitely going to do it. Even if it was the last thing he did, he made a decision and would commit to it no matter how much it made his heart race and his palms sweat. Yusuke seemed to really appreciate the fact that he'd accepted so he'd be a complete asshole if he didn't follow through... even if it was just because he wanted to get to know the artist better. 

Once he calmed down enough to raise his head without Futaba commenting on it, he picked the now empty cup up off the table and went back to work. Later he would worry about going to see him, but for now he had a job to do.


End file.
